300 jobs more: US company expands its Irish campus

US biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals revealed plans to create some 300 new jobs in Ireland's Limerick County. The jobs form part of a US$100m (€85m) expansion plan for the company's campus there.

The site in Limerick was opened in 2014 and classifies as one of the largest biologic production operations in the world. The 300 new jobs will come on top of 500 existing ones. The expansion is expected to be finished by the end of 2018. Regeneron plans to hire specialists in commercial manufacturing, process sciences, quality assurance/control/validation, chemistry and various support functions. Dan Van Plew, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Industrial Operations and Product Supply at Regeneron, said: “Gut feel is a large portion of any site selection. When we picked Limerick years ago, we simply felt good about the community, universities and people. A few years and a lot of experience later, I can now confidently say I know Limerick is a place where you can build and thrive as a biotech.“ Van Plew described the Limerick site as Regeneron’s bridge head in Europe.

The latest investment of US$100m (€85m) by Regeneron brings the total investment sum at the site to US$750m. The money will support the construction of a number of manufacturing suites to increase drug substance production capacity, Regeneron stated. The campus, dubbed Industrial Operations and Product Supply (IOPS) facility, is responsible for the production, packaging, labelling and delivery of Regeneron medicines. The expansion is supported by the Irish government through IDA Ireland.